NEWS
RELEASE from the United States Department of DefenseNo. 1129-05IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 1, 2005Media Contact: Army Public Affairs - (703)
692-2000 Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the
death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
They died in Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on October 31, 2005, when an improvised
explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during patrol operations.
The Soldiers were assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry
Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell,
Kentucky.

For further information related to this release,
contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000.

With 250 soldiers under his command, Army
Sergeant First Class Jonathan Tessar didn't have to ride in the lead vehicle
of a convoy south of Baghdad one day last month.

Realizing that the first vehicle in the patrol
also could be the one to trigger a hidden roadside bomb, he could have
chosen a spot farther back.

But that wasn't his style, according to those
who knew the seasoned combat veteran.

Returning to Simi Valley for his father's funeral
last June, Tessar told his family about his plans to return to combat yet
again.

"I said, 'Why go back?' " his brother Bill
recalled. "But he went full throttle at just about everything he did. He
loved the Army, and he loved this country."

Abundantly tattooed, Tessar enjoyed an occasional
chew of tobacco and was a big fan of NASCAR racing. He also followed the
news avidly. "He loved politics," his brother said. "He could out-argue
anyone."

Tessar planned to retire from the Army in nine
months.

"He was really going to start living life,"
his brother said. "He had missed so many of his kids' birthdays, missed
so many holidays so the rest of us wouldn't have to."
At the tender age of 5, Jonathan Tessar dreamed of becoming
a soldier.

So much so, the Simi Valley High School football
player and track runner took the General Education Development exam, and
with diploma in hand enlisted in the Army before he was 18.

For the past 18 years, the 36-year-old Simi
Valley native fulfilled his dream, eventually climbing to the rank of sergeant
first class assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment,
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell,
Kentucky.

The dream his life had become ended Monday
when he and three soldiers from Fort Campbell were killed after an explosive
device detonated near their vehicle while in Al Mahmudiyah, just south
of Baghdad, Iraq.

"His family was more important to him than
anything, but his love and loyalty to the Army and to his soldiers was
unwavering," said Tessar's wife, Nancy, in a prepared statement released
by military officials Tuesday in Fort Campbell.

Tessar was a Green Beret, an Airborne Ranger
with a sniper's license and a platoon leader who oversaw 250 soldiers.
The NASCAR fan's chest jangled with ribbons, badges and medallions when
he wore his dress uniform.

"He looked more decorated than generals," his
older brother, Bill Tessar, 38, of Simi Valley, said Tuesday night. "He
was always signing up and going around the world protecting his country."

The brothers last saw each other in May when
Tessar returned home for their father's funeral.

"The Army life is not an easy way of life,"
his brother said. "It is an amazing, selfless act to be a soldier, in my
mind."

Tessar was fighting in the Persian Gulf when
his first child, Jonathan Jr., was born in Simi Valley. His brother served
as his wife's coach in Tessar's absence.

While he traveled the world, the ties that
bound him to his hometown never weakened and he kept in touch with old
friends and relatives, his brother said.

"We got into a lot of trouble as kids, and
all the neighborhood knew us," he said.

From the backyard of their home abutting Highway
118, the boys would toss water balloons at passing cars.

"I was more the rotten of the two, and he got
the blame," his brother said. "My brother was a good kid. Everyone loved
John."

When he learned that his younger brother was
killed, Bill Tessar said, he pulled his truck to the side of the freeway
and collapsed in grief. He has not been able to bring himself to make all
the calls notifying friends.

Hours before he died, Tessar responded to an
e-mail his brother had sent at the behest of his own children, who wanted
to know how their uncle was doing.

He was doing fine, Tessar wrote. The nights
were spent worrying because the action was heavy, but he and his guys were
helping the good people and getting rid of the bad.

He didn't need anything for himself but asked
his brother to help his wife with care packages for his guys.

Tessar is the 11th member of the military from
Ventura County killed during a tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom,
and the fifth from Simi Valley.

"Our thoughts and support go out to the
men and women who continue to serve and their families back home," Nancy
Tessar said in the prepared statement. "We pray for all of our soldiers'
safe return."

Tessar entered the service in 1987 and was
assigned to Fort Campbell in July 2004. He is survived by his wife and
three children. He had nine months left in the service before he was set
to retire, his brother said.

"He certainly did not want to die for his country,
but he was very much willing to," Bill Tessar said. "He was as much an
American as anybody. He was fighting for us to not have to worry about
bombs going off on the side (of our roads)."

Memorial services for Tessar and the other
soldiers will be held in Iraq. Fort Campbell also will recognize the fallen
soldiers during a ceremony November 9, 2005. Plans for a local service
are pending.
TESSAR, JONATHANSFC US ARMYDATE OF BIRTH: 04/04/1969DATE OF DEATH: 10/31/2005BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 8293ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Posted: 27 November 2005 Updated: 22 January 2006